Bay 12 Games Forum

Turn Structure
Turns are divided into two general types: Settlement and Adventure.

Settlement Mode involves performing settlement actions: Building structures, harvesting resources, seducing peasants, and other "in town" activities. This is generally the default mode for anyone not currently out in the wilderness.

Adventure Mode involves performing adventure actions: Investigating a peculiar jumble of rocks, climbing a tree to get a better view of the surroundings, being eaten alive by radioactive jackals, and other "on an adventure" activities. This tends to happen when players strike out on an expedition, either to another plane of reality or just in the land around an existing settlement.

Under normal circumstances, both turn types run simultaneously, so a given player's current activities have little bearing on how often they get to act. In the event of high player load, players may be cycled into and out of temporary inactive mode, wherein they amass perfectly average results rather than roll for their complex multi-stage plans.

Basics
Most rolls use standard RTD results.

Roll	Outcome
6	Overshot. You succeed a little too enthusiastically, causing unintended side effects.
5	Flawless Success. You succeed about as well as could be hoped.
4	Success. You succeed more or less as intended.
3	Partial Success. You accomplish some of your goal but not all of it, or it suffers a flaw of some sort.
2	Failure. You fail.
1	Critical Failure. You ruin everything.

Modifiers can apply to rolls, usually from traits and raw materials. End results of 7+ or 0- are progressively more extreme versions of 6 and 1, respectively.

Experience and Skills
Skills represent your talent in a given field, or more specifically the number of units worth of effort you can apply in an action. For instance, someone with +3 Woodcutting can harvest 3 units of lumber per turn.

Note that not all skills are created equally. Narrower skills tend to have a deeper range of effects, while shallower skills tend to have a broader range of effects. In addition, players tend to be far more talented and... unrestrained than normal people, and as such tend to wield far more potent versions than their peasant fellows.

Skills increase through experience gain. Any time you perform an action, you have a chance to gain experience in its relevant skill.

Roll	XP Gain
5-6	+2
3-4	+1
1-2	+0

The experience needed to increase a level is equal to the skill's current bonus. For instance, +4 Carpentry requires 4 points of xp to raise to +5 Carpentry.

Traits
Traits are relatively unique facets of a character, be it a biological quirk, special magical talent, or simply bizarre obsession. Traits can have a wide range of effects, but are notably a common source of modifiers to rolls.

Every three levels you acquire among all of your skills, you will receive a choice of several traits based on your actions and achievements. You may only select one, though it is possible for unselected traits to appear in later selections.

Mission Statement and Legal Status
As with most things involving cruel insectile overlords shoving livestock through unstable holes, the art of planar travel is a little... complicated. The chief obstacle is that most planar destinations are not very accommodating, and many are not very stable, in a ground-literally-falls-into-the-void manner.

Accordingly, travel to other worlds consists of three phases. The first phase is to shove a magical probe to a given destination, collecting data on local conditions. The second involves insane magical livestock jumping through in order to harvest it of resources, collect additional information, and even erecting crude structures to do livestock things in. The third, and incredibly rare, stage is for the imperious overlords themselves to establish some manner of presence in a sufficiently secure and developed region.

As insane magical livestock yourself, you are of course primarily concerned with Stages 1 and 2.

World Qualities
The first step in exploring a new world is making sure you don't die instantly upon entering it. This can be more complicated than you might think, because most alternate planes are really just terrible. Probes return the following rough statistics:

Temperature
How hot or cold the area is. Extreme ranges are generally only survivable with proper protection, but even perfectly habitable ranges tend to require concessions to thrive in.

Moisture
How much liquid is around. Sometimes this means water, other times it's an ocean of acid. As might be expected, especially wet or dry areas tend to be obnoxious to work in.

Fertility
How well the soil and other conditions support life. Note that the exact definition of "life" can get rather subjective, so occasionally it will return "Barren Wasteland" on a rock elemental jungle or "Overgrown Paradise" in an eternal hurricane of acid bats. Also note that this is an estimate of potential, not actual living things, so sometimes "fertile" areas will lack present inhabitants or "barren" areas will be strangely overstocked.

Rockiness
A rough estimate of the area's geography. Note that the probes equate uneven terrain with hard surfaces and vice versa, so an ocean wracked by mountain-sized waves and a perfectly flat plain of glass might both return as somewhat hilly.

Stability
How, uh, stable the world is. Note that this refers to far more than geography- many worlds are literally rotting away to nothing in an alarmingly short period. "Normal" worlds are "permanent," meaning infinite or effectively infinite stability (or rather, no detectable decay). Others literally feature ground falling away, color draining from the world, the sun slowly dimming to nothing, or other bizarre phenomena. While not generally recommended for permanent settlements, their decay often makes it easier to plunder whatever resources remain.

Note that the probe can sometimes, but not always, note unspecified abnormalities in the above categories. It usually does not return abnormalities in other fields, such as whether the world has a sun, if there's a hungry worm staring at the tasty probe, if a gentle paradise is visible from the hellish volcano crater it has landed in and is reporting back to you, and so on. It will, however, report excessive sources of damage to itself, assuming it's given enough time to do so.

Expeditions
Once you've decided that a Scorching Waterlogged Bleak-But-Something's-Off Mountains is the perfect spot to do things other than die, you can arrange an expedition. Normally this consists of a pack of unstable mages jumping through to figure out the fine details of what is clearly a giant frying pan, but sometimes it can involve other peons to assist in some manner.

Your insectile overlords refer to this as an "asset expenditure," though you prefer "adventure." Depending on the exact conditions, this may involve examining rocks and topography for a good settlement location, or running screaming as wave after wave of hellbats hurl themselves at your delicious, delicious flesh.

With the information and, if successful, pacification of the region in question, a more permanent settlement becomes much more feasible.

Settlements
Once a good (or horrifyingly bad but you're doing it anyway) spot for a settlement has been selected, proper construction may begin.

One unit of structure is, very roughly, a 10-ft. cube. Larger and more complex structures are generally just multiple units squished together, and thus require more manpower and materials to complete.

Inhabitants for your settlement may migrate in search of food, shelter, protection, and so on. They may also be coerced or purchased, bred from existing inhabitants, created outright through insane rituals, and so on. As might be expected, less skilled peons will accept much simpler living conditions than more skilled peons.

Finally, structures and possessions may grant bonuses to their owners, depending on their exact value and nature.

Magic is the manipulation of a particular element, or more specifically a particular type of mana. Mana is sometimes described as the essence of the world, or a "purer" form of a thing. Things tend to produce and contain their type of mana, so stone is a source of Stone Mana, fire is a source of Fire Mana, and so on.

This does place two important limits on magic use. The first is that a given type of magic is only feasible if you can find appropriate mana; concepts, such as Immortality or Awesome, are notoriously difficult to find and extract mana for. The second is that, even if a type of magic is feasible in general, it requires raw materials to function; either physical materials containing appropriate mana, or refined mana itself. This makes, for instance, using Water Magic to end droughts difficult, because you can't create water without water mana in some form, which is liable to be difficult if you don't have enough water in the first place.

Because mundane materials are sufficient for most purposes, mana is typically only used in pure forms when necessary. This most often occurs for large or exotic projects, where the end result is much smaller than the materials that would need to be used, or the logistics of transporting that much unrefined material are prohibitive.

When it is needed, mana is extracted from the environment by meditation or prayer, or from raw materials directly through some manner of rendering.

You had heard about the expedition to Paradise from your mother well in advance of it launching. Suspiciously in advance, one might say, if one took her hypothetical questions about going to a distant land and utilizing your various talents as prophetic. Eventually these clandestine inquiries became news and more formal prodding, which you paid only mild attention to between fine liquor and frenzied clashes against rival monsters and demigods leading rival clans and warbands.

For a time, you heard nothing more, which you assumed meant that prospect had fallen through- a tragic fate, surely, for one who didn't have a jug of bloodslush and some comely goatwomen on hand. You knew something was up, however, when your mother finally returned in the form of a smirking serpent, though she soon transformed into a more humanoid but no less smirking form.

"Wondrous news, little one!" she beams. "Today you leave for Paradise!"

You tilt your head in mild surprise, but it's not like you have a lot of packing to do. Pity about your tribe, though. You wonder if you'll be able to take any with you, though you imagine any that remain behind will be able to glue themselves to something powerful in short order.

"Now remember!" she snarls, grabbing you by an antler and leaning in. She's normally fairly serene, whether cooing over hatchlings or eating something alive, but deep down she's still a thing of nature. "This isn't just another lark. You'll have to apply yourself, got it?"

You give a casual "mmhmm" as you take another swig of wine, feeling her other hand strongly consider shattering the jug out of your grip through the tensions in the one grabbing your antlers. Evidently this project is rather important to her, though you're not sure why.

She's saved from this dilemma by the distant sound of your father's hunting horn, a rare event in these parts. Most entities not from Praise don't realize Makaur was once a Master, and most from Praise who do tend to overplay the lengths of his defection. The Masters do as they wish, be that commit unspeakable blasphemies against life itself from atop the grim majesty of the Skythrone, or leisurely torture woodland creatures to death in a quaint patch of forest claimed by quaint runaway children.

The goatmen remember, though. They spring into panicked, frenzied action immediately, trying to pile up enough of a sacrifice to appease the approaching lord. Like most mortals, goatmen fear death, pain, loss, and so on, but you have never seen anything quite like the primal terror they have for The Masters. Being half-Master doesn't seem to count, but once or twice you've managed to puff yourself up just the right way to sort of look like one, you think. Drained the color right out of them, whatever you did.

Of course, The Masters have little use for trinkets, so by the time your father arrives he is greeted by piles of varying kinds of flesh. He gives them only the briefest of glances before tossing you onto his back and taking off. Not very ceremonious, but you suppose there's no sense dawdling.

You'd heard the news, of course. A new world, a new opportunity. It had seemed a bit decadent at the time- there were, after all, quite a few people requiring assistance on the worlds the Throne already controlled, and no particular purpose or worth noted in this new realm.

So you had carried on with your duties as though nothing was happening, right up until you heard an ominous Echo. Following it, you indeed discovered your fate- a caravan of locals, struggling through injury and harassment by hideous things of entropy and madness. Your suspicion grew as you learned they were being followed from the outlands, where they had collected some precious cargo, and that they had heard no sounds from a foreign god.

Still, they bore divine seals and were clearly in need of assistance, and so you helped them along, crossing over with them into the Throne itself. There your duty ended, and so you turned to leave.

Only to hear the Echo again, from behind you. It seemed Paradise was a concern of yours after all.

"I am sure you will do well," Matriarch booms.

youR FATE Cannot be fouGHT another voice Whispers into your head, somehow much, much louder.

"This expedition is a vital endeavor, not only for its own sake, but for uniting the worlds we already possess."

fooLISH GReed will not saVE THEm

"I cannot leave such a thing to chance. I require my greatest soldier for this assignment."

LIES And flaTTERY to soothe anOTHER Pawn

"I will not be able to meet with you directly, but we may still exchange messages. Do not be afraid."

my whISPERS SHAll cease, yET You cannOT EScape the whispers wiTHIN YOUrself

Thus did you ride into the Throne, as you usually do, atop Mother and underneath Father, on the former's command and the latter's insistence.

"No one blames you for what happened," your guide says. It's not the first time you've heard that phrase. "What's important is what comes after."

You try to ask her what that is, but she gives the same sly answer. "Danger, beings in need, you know."

Traveling through Mourn is no easy feat, so you're less than thrilled about not being clear why. For a priestess of Matriarch, however, you feel inclined to play along, especially when she claims the great goddess needs your assistance.

You try to ask again what beings, and get a literally surprising answer.

"All of them," booms the voice of your mother. Your guide seems to perk up at the sight.

"Strength-of-Will, Wisdom of the Gods, Eternal Protector of Craft, this humble one greets you," she states, formally but sounding genuinely pleased.

"Likewise, little one. It is not far now."

The three of you continue on, the gigantic she-wolf dwarfing you who somewhat dwarfs the priestess. Gradually the formation shifts, until the priestess is leading ahead while your mother walks beside you.

"I meant what I said. Nothing the Throne does is simple; there are forces at work scarcely comprehended by most. Your comrades included."

You try to ask what she's referring to, as you still have no idea why you are needed, but she just shakes her giant head.

"You will see when we get there. That is the easy part." She rounds on you, forcing you to come to a stop, and stares into your eyes with her giant, incandescent cyan ones. "Protection will not be sufficient. You will need to understand these threats in order to combat them."

After a moment, she resumes walking, and the formation melts back to you and the priestess walking together.

"Her and Matriarch do not always see eye to eye," she mentions offhandedly. "But they both think you'll be vital to this operation."

You restrain the urge to ask what operation, and simply keep following.

You've always wanted to go on an adventure.

And, to be fair, that meant you usually did. Most people think the back man, the wise old mentor, the talented smith, the guy who gets you the goods, they're all out of the picture. Those people have never had to deal with Sork Hive stormtroopers politely inquiring as to where a certain thief got his picks or ravening bellhounds not really caring that you need to get through these woods to tip off an adventurer. No, being the side guy for an adventure is most certainly an adventure.

But you get the distinction- it's not your adventure. They're the ones center stage, the ones who do or don't and then the world works off that. If you screw up or kick ass on the sidelines, sure, things might go bad or good. But they're not going to go pivotally bad or good unless they were balancing on a razor's edge anyway, and even then the one in the spotlight's got more sway than anyone backstage, usually.

So when you heard about an entirely new world to explore, you knew this was going to be perfect.

And were only slightly daunted when they said no.

It's all politics, of course. They kept saying it was "super important" and you were "not taking this seriously at all" and other such nonsense. Well, they're not the only ones with political connections!

Of course your mother had super important things to do and your father wasn't taking this seriously at all, so.

You looked into the feasibility of just smuggling yourself in, but those guards were perceptive. Every test run you did, they found you. Drat. The pickled fish you understood, the bottom of the wagon was fairly uninspired, dressing as a guard was bound to have SOME complications... but you're still scratching your head on how they found you after sealing yourself inside a giant cheese wheel. Maybe it weighed the wrong amount or one of the goons present had some kind of lifesense or something.

But no matter, because your NEXT plan was FLAWLESS!

You got on your knees and begged. In retrospect that didn't work for very many of your prodded champions either except as a brief distraction to throw sand in their face or when the vile overlord in question wanted to add him to their harem anyway. Which you also tried, naturally, but most of the Throne's floors don't have any sand and most of its inhabitants have just truly abysmal taste in men, so no luck there either.

A few ploys later, imagine your surprise when, in the middle of serenading the guards, you're invited on in! Well, either this worked or they've grown sick enough of you to break your legs, so onwards! But no, they said, of all things, that you'd been selected to journey to Paradise based on, among other things, your persistence and ingenuity.

...

...which was, of course, your plan all along!

In any case, the important thing is you're off on an adventure. Hopefully a little more heroic swordsman and less determined thief this time, but still.

You never got the full picture for why you were selected to go to Paradise. You never got any picture, in fact. Not handed to you, anyway. Based on the number and type of gods and other high-level entities that came and took a look at you, you're guessing this was not a whim or accident. But other than that? A pretty wide spread, with a few noted spikes for scholars and astrologers and such.

Which was worrying, because your fate is broken, right? Maybe they want to use the parts to make a new one, which... might be better or worse than the original thing.

But eventually, into the Throne you went to go to Paradise. Sometimes fate just works out! ...wait, crap. That's... probably a coincidence.

Bubbling Mirror (Demonic Spoon): 10 Mourn Divine Favors, 5 Mourn Forbidden Favors
Elythus Vineheart (vishdafish): 5 PraiseDivine Favors, 5 Praise Mundane Favors, 5 Praise Forbidden Favors
Moreau, God of Adventure (Roboson): 5 Praise Divine Favors, 5 Fray Forbidden Favors, 5 Throne Mundane Favors
Orphella, Teacher (micelus): 5 Wrack Divine Favors, 5 Mourn Divine Favors, 5 Soul Divine Favors
The Body of the Shield, Guardian-God (Pencil): 10 Mourn Divine Favors, 5 Mourn Commoner Favors
Fuzzy (RAM): 10 Mourn Mundane Favors, 5 Mourn Forbidden Favors

Favors are represented as smooth discs, colored and patterned to display their origin and type. Each Favor may be expended to request a boon from the Throne. These boons are subject to interpretation and availability, and it is generally considered poor form to request overly specific items. A listing of the common items available and their cost in Favors is found below.

Each Favor has one or more descriptors, usually an Origin Descriptor stating a world and a Type Descriptor stating a relation to the divine. In each case, the requests a Favor is exchanged for will tend to match at least on of its tags. For instance, requesting "war beasts" using Fray Divine Favors will typically produce something the Goddesses of Fray would have access to and consider useful, while Wrack Forbidden Favors will typically produce something you'd expect from an Abomination of Wrack. Requests that suggest a certain tag must, of course, possess that tag on its Favors; asking for "a hive-prince gladiator" will only work with Fray tokens, for example.

Combining Favors of differing types tends to even out any conflicting tags, so one Soul Mundane token and one Praise Mundane token will generally produce a Mundane but relatively world-neutral or world-blind result.

Favors are traditionally intended to be spent immediately, though there is some leeway there.

Note that for expediency purposes, you may continue to spend Favors retroactively once the game starts, so don't panic if you can't think of what you want immediately. Please try to avoid hoarding them too long, however- they're supposed to be starting goodies, not hammerspace tools for whatever situation you find yourself in.

Mortals
You may purchase improved conditions for the mortals under your protection. They will appreciate the gesture. For reference, there are five caravans, one for each world, each consisting of 5 trains. Most mortal items reference whole caravans rather than their subunits.

1 Favor: Rations
A complete shipment of food and other minor necessities for one of the caravans heading to Paradise. Specifically, 30 units of food, enough to feed one caravan (or five trains) for 6 months. Note that this food must be applied to a given caravan immediately, since a caravan is needed to transport it.
2 Favors: Tools
A complete set of tools, equipment, and materials for one of the caravans heading to Paradise. This will allow them to set up and begin an advanced and otherwise difficult industry or craft on a large scale upon arrival. The specific type of craft is determined by what tools are purchased.
3 Favors: Artifact
A potent artifact or other divine blessing, by mortal standards. Usually this is something useful but mundane, such as a horn that flows eternally with clean, cool water.

Materials
You may purchase raw materials for later use. While they seldom have much benefit on their own, they can improve crafting attempts, thereby providing you with boons of your own devising.

1 Favor: Basic Material
A basic if still mystically reactive material. Basic materials may have pivotal uses in forging mortal tools, but for deities are usually just an appropriate base to add power to their works or build more specific powers on top of. Adds +2 Str to a crafting attempt.
3 Favors: Potent Material
A dangerously powerful material. Potent materials are usually the focal point of any works using them, adding not just power but essence to its abilities. Adds +4 Str to a crafting attempt, and suggests a special ability.
5 Favors: Dangerous Material
A relatively one of a kind material. Dangerous materials are often potent enough to have some function even in their unrefined state, and when forged into other works usually define them strongly. Adds +6 Str to a crafting attempt, and strongly suggests at least one special ability.

Servants
You may purchase living things to serve you. Servants and their ilk may have a wide range of uses depending on a wide range of factors. Note that servants, even those with the appropriate addons, are their own entities and may behave in ways you might not desire, including requesting compensation for their efforts, taking up baking, being killed in honor duels, and so on.

1 Favor: Trivial Entity
A relatively unimportant entity, often an animal or lowly mortal of some sort. Usually 0 Str, but may possess traits.
3 Favor: Minor Entity
A minor but potentially relevant entity, often a mortal champion or minor spirit of some kind. Usually 2 Str, but may possess traits.
5 Favor: Lesser Entity
A potentially potent entity, often a mighty demigod or powerful monster of some kind. Usually 4 Str, but may possess traits.
10 Favor: Moderate Entity
A monstrously powerful entity, often a terrifying beast or shambling horror of some kind. Usually 6 Str, but may possess traits.
15 Favor: Greater Entity
A supremely powerful entity, often a fearsome demon or dragon of some kind. Usually 8 Str, but may possess traits.

+1 Favor: Loyal
The entity likes you, needs you for something, or is otherwise especially dedicated to your best interests.
+1 Favor: Motivated
The entity is enthusiastic, gains additional benefit from working, or is otherwise especially dedicated to their task.
+1 Favor: Bound
The entity is a slave, honor-bound to you, related by blood, or otherwise especially tied to you personally.
+1 Favor: Exotic
The entity possesses mystical powers, exotic training, or otherwise possesses unusually useful and hard to come by abilities.
+1 Favor: Loved
The entity is famous, personable, or otherwise unusually well-liked by most other beings.
+1 Favor: Connected
The entity is somebody important's relative, creation, or otherwise unusually politically handy to have around.
+1 Favor: Complementary
The entity possesses abilities that synergize or complement weaknesses in your own, or is otherwise unusually handy for you personally.

-1 Favor: Disloyal
The entity dislikes you, feels you are in the way, or is otherwise especially disdainful of your best interests.
-1 Favor: Unmotivated
The entity is coerced, lazy, or otherwise especially reluctant towards their task.
-1 Favor: Unbound
The entity is a free agent, insolent, or otherwise especially independent of you.
-1 Favor: Mundane
The entity is a well-trained mortal, mundanely focused, or otherwise possesses unusually banal and common abilities.
-1 Favor: Hated
The entity is infamous, repugnant or otherwise unusually reviled by most other beings.
-1 Favor: Targeted
The entity is a villain, disgraced, or otherwise unusually politically questionable to have around.
-1 Favor: Duplicated
The entity possesses abilities that mimic or override your own, or is otherwise unusually redundant for you personally.

It is said that in ages past, all of humanity dwelled within one glorious city.


Naturally, it exploded.


From this catastrophe emerged three major powers.


They also exploded.


You can probably guess where this is going by now. Most settlements are relatively isolated, surrounded by forgotten ruins and hostile wilderness.


Your home is- well, was- known as the Gemstone Kingdom. Built around a volcano, it draws many precious gems from the volcano's depths, giving it an impressive boost to a variety of fields.


The Gemstone Kingdom is comprised of five warring kingdoms or duchies; as each claims the entirety of the kingdom as rightfully theirs, there is some conflict and overlap in terminology.


Within each sub-kingdom, of course, there is quite a bit of... competition. You were minor nobility in the service of landholding nobility, and therefore party to their plots, schemes against rival kingdoms and "friendly" nobles.

You were also, naturally, party to their utter crushing defeat and current exile.

You are now left with two options: Thrive in the barren, dangerous wilds, or die in the barren, dangerous wilds.

Each turn represents one week, during which time you may take two actions. Minor activities, such as conversing with each other or moving a piece of furniture from one room to another, typically do not cost an action.

Adventures requiring immediate and precise activity, such as an enemy assault or searching for buried treasure, will use a more traditional time scale.

Rolled actions are typically based off a relevant skill. Your skill in a given field is the number of dice rolled when you use it; each die has a 50% chance of producing a success and a 50% chance of producing a failure. Successes are rerolled for another chance at producing a success, and can chain indefinitely. Failures have a 33% chance of being Flaws.

The end result is dependent on the final number of Successes and Flaws. Successes improve your result's magnitude or power, while Flaws complicate or lessen your efforts.

Value	Name	XP To Next	Total Actions to Reach	Description
-1	Inexperienced	1	-	Utterly incompetent. If it requires negative successes to pull off, it's probably a very simple task ending in "without hurting yourself too badly."
0	Dabbling	1	1	Oblivious. If it requires zero successes, it's probably a very simple task ending in "without hurting yourself."
1	Novice	2	2	Basic. Manipulating fire between your hands, raising a mindless mook skeleton, carving a simple stone coffer.
2	Apprentice	4	4	Respectable. Spreading fire to objects across a room, raising a weak single-minded skeleton, carving a watertight stone coffer.
3	Adept	6	8	Professional. Charring a nearby object to ash, raising a focused skeleton warrior, carving an airtight stone coffer with a secure latch.
4	Expert	8	12	Powerful. Lighting an entire room on fire, raising a sturdy dutiful wight, carving a stone coffer with a cleverly hidden compartment.
5	Master	10	16	Irresponsible. Charring a room and everything in it to ash, raising a vampire, carving a stone coffer that can only be opened by flipping it around in the proper order.

Each success on the initial roll grants a point of XP. Most skill levels require double their current bonus in XP to reach the next level. A skill level of 0 or below uses a single die, plus a failure die for each point below 1 the skill is. Failure dice behave much as regular dice, save that their Successes negate normal Successes and their Flaws produce redeeming quirks rather than marring deficiencies. Failure dice have no impact on XP gain.

In addition to their own prowess, many skills benefit greatly from skill levels in other fields. Characters may utilize concepts or abilities from skills to augment the effects of the primary skill in an action, performing feats that might not otherwise be possible with just the primary skill. For instance, a Necromancer might use Earth Magic to make a zombie's hide more stonelike or raise fossilized skeletons, a Lightning Mage might use Destruction to hurl staggering bolts of lightning or slowly break apart his victims as he electrocutes them, and a Carpenter might use Fishing to make a fish-shaped chest or a chair that's well-balanced against struggling movements.

Mundane skills are areas not requiring any magical talent in to achieve. Compared to magic skills, mundane skills tend to be weaker and more limited, but vastly safer and more reliable. Flaws in mundane efforts tend to mar the product or occasionally damage tools or crafters, but are rather mild compared to magical incidents.

Most skills fall into one of the following categories.

Crafting Skills
Generally a combination of a specific material (Stone, Wood, Bone) and a general class of products (Crafts, Furniture, Weapons). Also encompasses harvesting skills, like Mining or Hunting. Usually used to create wealth or maintain a fortress.

Combat Skills
Usually a specific type of weapon, such as Swords or Bows, or a defensive skill like Dodging. Usually used to battle foes without the... temperamental nature of magic.

Social Skills
Usually a conversational or performance skill, like Seduction or Dancing. Usually used to make nice with neighbors.

Knowledge Skills
Usually a well-informed obsession with a given topic, like Geology or Erotic Literature. Usually used to solve obscure problems.

Principle Schools are somewhat eclectic schools based around a given method, or principle. Most Principle Schools have a twin school, often thought of as the other side of the same coin or similar metaphors, that covers "the opposite" of their principle; some practitioners insist that true mastery of a school requires both sides of this coin, while others find little value in learning the opposite of what they want to do.

Principle Schools are known for their versatility and breadth. They are often paired with Elemental Schools to "flavor" the Principle School's effects with elemental essence, such as by producing flaming zombies or skeletons that can swim.

Necromancy
The malign manipulation of life. Necromancy can cause damage, pain, and debilitation to living things, as well as manipulate their souls and reanimate their corpses.

Necromancy is valued for its flexibility in dealing with living enemies, its ability to create undead servants, and its ability to manipulate souls for enchanting or undead creation purposes. Necromancers often dabble in Destruction to better project their disruption of life, Enchanting or Runecrafting to better imbue objects with souls, and Vitamancy to allow them to take the life energies they disrupt for their own benefit.

Vitamancy
The benign manipulation of life. Vitamancy can heal wounds or afflictions, and enhance bodily attributes.

Vitamancy is most highly valued for its ability to heal, but also well respected for its ability to mend more complicated injuries or afflictions, and to empower living entities. Vitamancers often dabble in elemental magics to better empower entities with those elements' likenesses, Protection to help ward against harm rather than restoring it after the fact, and Enchantment to produce more persistent boons.

Thanamancy
Mastery of both Necromancy and Vitamancy is sometimes referred to as Thanamancy. Thanamancers are known for their unrivaled ability to manipulate the forces of life, notably by empowering themselves with the stolen life force of their foes.

Destruction
The destruction and projection of materials and forces. Destruction can hurl, break down, or shatter materials or energies.

Destruction is valued for its ability to hurl projectiles of energy or matter, add force or destructive energy to existing attacks, and directly break down or shatter things. Destructors often dabble in elementalism to provide additional substances to pummel foes with, and Necromancy to improve their potential to damage living targets.

Protection
The preservation and exclusion of materials and forces. Protection can hold things together, harden them against damage, and weaken or prevent things from entering or damaging areas or objects.

Protection is valued for its ability to create wards and shields around allies or areas. Protectors often dabble in elementalism, especially Earth Magic, to provide shields of or against specific elements, and Vitamancy to help defend or augment the vitality or life force of their target.

Shaping
Mastery of both Destruction and Protection is sometimes known as Shaping. Shapers are known for their unrivaled manipulation of energies and materials in motion, notably in shifting between or combining attacking and defending with the same forces.

Summoning
The incarnation of complex things. Summoning can summon creatures and equipment to serve the caster.

Summoning is valued for its ability to summon minions of all varieties. Summoners often dabble in elemental magics to access elementals, Necromancy to access undead, and just about anything else to widen their pool of summons in unique and personal ways.

Conjuration
The incarnation of simple things. Conjuration can conjure materials and forces as the caster directs.

Conjuration is valued for its incredible flexibility, notably in hampering enemies with sticky, slippery, unbalancing, or directly harmful materials or forces. Conjurers often dabble in elemental magics to widen their array of substances and forces, and just about anything else to widen their options further.

Binding
Mastery of both Summoning and Conjuration is sometimes known as Binding. Binders are known for their unrivaled ability to summon anything they like, notably composite entities or forces that might not exist naturally.

Alteration
The manipulation of physical objects. Alteration can lift, move, or stop physical matter, and alter its hardness or weight.

Alteration is valued for its flexibility in altering the physical world, its ability to levitate and hurl projectiles, barriers, or the caster, and its ability to lighten or otherwise render objects more convenient. Alterors often dabble in elemental magics to better control their elements, Protection to strengthen objects being used as shields, Destruction to strengthen the force of hurled projectiles or make them explode on impact, and Transmutation or Transmogrification to better manipulate the nature of used objects.

Illusion
The manipulation of perceptions. Illusion can create mirages and other false sensory artifacts, and manipulate emotion and perception directly.

Illusion is valued for its ability to create illusory images, sounds, or occasionally other senses, magnify love, fear, hate, or other useful emotions in others, and subtly massage interpretations of events and information to the caster's benefit. Illusors often dabble in Alteration to better ground their deceptions in reality, Enchantment or Runecrafting to help their constructions stick to targets better, and just about anything else to improve their repertoire.

Warping
Mastery of both Alteration and Illusion is sometimes known as Warping. Warpers are known for their unrivaled control of the world and its inhabitants, notably their ability to trap victims in half-real, half-illusion constructs.

Transmogrification
The alteration of form. Transmogrification can alter the size and shape of objects or material.

Transmogrification is valued for its ability to transform the caster and objects into more convenient forms, and enemies into less convenient forms. Transmogrifiers often dabble in Transmutation to alter a substance's makeup as well as form, Vitamancy or Necromancy to better control their manipulation of living beings, elemental magics to better manipulate their respective materials, and just about anything else to add to their options for transforming things.

Transmutation
The alteration of substance. Transmutation can alter the properties or makeup of materials.

Transmutation is valued for its ability to improve the quality of an item's material, weaken or otherwise worsen the material of obstacles or enemy items, and transform portions of the caster's body to iron or some other more convenient material. Transmuters often dabble in Transmogrification to alter a material's form as well as makeup, and elemental magics to better control their element's material.

Polymorphing
Mastery of both Transmutation and Transmogrification is sometimes known as Polymorphing. Polymorphers are known for their unrivaled control over physical makeup and form, notably their ability to transform beings and objects into completely different ones.

Enchanting
The attachment of simple forces. Enchanting can imbue objects and materials with simple, persistent magical forces.

Enchanting is valued for its ability to wreathe weapons in energy, harden or otherwise improve armor, and extend the duration of other magical effects. Enchanters often dabble in just about anything to expand their repertoire of available forces and concepts.

Runecrafting
The attachment of complex forces. Runecrafting can imbue objects and materials with situational or complicated magical forces.

Runecrafting is valued for its ability to make weapons and armor more effective in specific situations, and to ward or empower areas for or against certain occurrences. Runecrafters often dabble in just about anything to expand their repertoire of effects and triggering conditions.

Artifice
Mastery of both Enchanting and Runecrafting is sometimes known as Artifice. Articifers are known for their unrivaled ability to attach magical forces to objects or locations, notably their ability to create incredibly complex magical effects.

Alchemy
The refinement and expression of mystical potential. Alchemy can turn mundane or magical ingredients into potions or other immediately consumable forms, as well as refine them into more potent reagents.

Alchemy is valued for its ability to create reliable bottled effects on demand. Alchemists often dabble in just about anything to expand their list of viable potion effects.

Infusion
The infusion and magnification of mystical potential. Infusion can turn mundane or magical ingredients into more potent receptacles of mystic power.

Infusion is valued for its ability to create power sources for rituals and powerful spells. Infusers often dabble in Transmutation to improve their works' affinity for their chosen energy, Enchanting to empower their ability to take in or put out energy, and just about anything else to expand their list of viable energy types.

Chrysopy
Mastery of both Alchemy and Infusion is sometimes known as Chrysopy. Chrysopists are known for their unrivaled ability to bring out the potential in magical or mundane ingredients, notably in creating overcharged consumables with wide-ranging, transformative effects.

Gating
Physically traversing the veil between worlds. Gating can permanently transport things to or from other worlds, with the right foreknowledge or exchange.

Gating is valued for its ability to trade with extraplanar entities and ensnare carefully researched objects. Gaters often dabble in Communion to get a better sense of what they're trading with, knowledge skills to better understand what they're looking for, and just about anything to expand their list of valid targets.

Communion
Astrally traversing the veil between worlds. Communion can sense and communicate with things not of this world.

Communion is valued for its ability to locate targets for other extraplanar actions, acquire distant business partners, and seek out wisdom and knowledge from higher beings. Communers often dabble in knowledge skills to better understand what they're looking for, social skills to more gracefully establish contact with entities, and just about anything else to expand their list of valid targets.

Calling
Mastery of both Gating and Communion is sometimes known as Calling. Callers are known for their unrivaled connection to the beyond, notably their ability to coordinate two-way rituals with otherworldly forces.

Elemental Schools are fairly predictable but incredibly diverse schools based around the manipulation of a specific material or energy, or element. Elemental magics can usually move and shape the element in question, condense or create it, and affect its properties or makeup. This makes Elemental Schools incredibly versatile within their element, but leaves the exact nature and value of this manipulation wholly dependent on the nature of the element.

Virtually any element is possible, including insubstantial concepts like emotions or time, though some sources break these off into their own categories. Narrower than usual elements, such as Stone rather than Earth, are possible and stronger in their chosen field, but usually not enough to warrant their use in most peoples' eyes. Broader than usual elements, such as Matter rather than Earth, are likewise possible, but tend to likewise be considered too weak to be worth the boost in versatility by most.

Elemental Schools are known for their coherent foundation. They are often paired with Principle Schools to empower the elements with new ways to behave, such as by creating explosions of earth or water that appears deeper than it is.

Fire
The manipulation of fire. Fire is generally thought of as an aggressive, offensive element, best used to indiscriminately light things on fire. It also sees some utility use in cooking food, lighting dark places, and even smelting.

Fire Mages most often dabble in Destruction for better control and force in lighting everything on fire, Transmutation to focus hotter or otherwise different flames, and other elemental magics to better combine or light the additional element on fire.

Earth
The manipulation of soil and stone. Earth is generally thought of as a defensive utility element, best used to shield or sheathe things in dirt and manipulate the ground for utility's sake. It also sees some use disabling or slowing foes down.

Earth Mages most often dabble in Protection to better shape soil defensively, Alteration to better move chunks of stone, and Transmogrification to better mold solid stone.

Water
The manipulation of water. Water is generally thought of as a flexible support element, best used to augment or aid other allies or skills using water as a delivery mechanism.

Water Mages most often dabble in Vitamancy to produce soothing healing waters, Alteration to better move water around, and Conjuration to produce water on demand rather than condensing it from the air.

Air
The manipulation of air and wind. Air is generally thought of as a flighty utility element, best used to help the caster flee danger.

Air Mages most often dabble in Alteration to help themselves levitate or fly, Conjuration to summon exotic gasses, and Destruction to buffet enemies with obstructing or unbalancing winds.

Ice
The manipulation of ice. Ice is generally seen as an offensive utility element, best used to slow or disable foes as it damages them.

Ice Mages most often dabble in Destruction to add more force or harm to their ice, Conjuration to summon ice directly rather than condense and freeze it from the air, and Alteration to better control and hurl chunks or spikes of ice.

Lightning
The manipulation of lightning. Lightning is generally seen as an offensive utility element, best used to damage and paralyze foes with bolts of lightning or crackling electricity.

Lightning Mages most often dabble in Destruction to add more force to their assaults, Necromancy to more effectively paralyze the living, and Enchanting to let paralyzing electricity stick to targets better.

Flesh
The manipulation of soft meaty parts. Flesh is generally seen as a questionable utility element, best used to warp oneself or others to more (or less) suitable forms.

Flesh Mages most often dabble in Necromancy to better harm their enemies, Vitamancy to better aid allies, and Transmogrification to better control the shape of a creature's fleshy parts.

Bone
The manipulation of hard organic animal parts. Bone is generally seen as a questionable utility element, best used to strengthen the caster's skeleton or grant them protruding bone plates or spikes.

Bone Mages most often dabble in Necromancy to better harm their enemies and control "loose" bone, Vitamancy to better reinforce and heal the bones of allies, and Transmogrification to better effect horrifying transformations.

Light
The manipulation of light. Light is generally seen as a utility element, best used to light dark places or make things harder to see, despite some practitioners' seeming obsession with focusing it into beams of destructive power.

Light Mages most often dabble in Illusion to grant their distortions increased convincingness, Protection to better warp light around themselves defensively, and Destruction to pursue their bizarre dream of destroying their foes with lasers.

Shadow
The manipulation of darkness. Shadow is generally seen as a utilty element, best used to dim foes' vision and hide oneself.

Shadow Mages most often dabble in Illusion to grant their distortions increased convincingness, Protection to better warp darkness around themselves defensively, and Destruction to hurl sight-obscuring shadows directly at foes.

Baron Skull
A tiny pink bunny riding in a suit of sinister gothic armor. His voice is tiny and cute under normal circumstances, but is amplified by his helmet into a shrill whine. He is known as a dark and terrifying lord of evil, seeking to bring all the world under his ebon grasp.

Baron Skull is a peerless necromancer and empowers those around him in battle. His servants are often rewarded with undead servants and dominion over conquered lands.

On the other hand, he's known for being somewhat... uncompromising regarding failure and its consequences, and insists that his minions follow a strict code of unnecessary evil.

Baroness Sugarpetal
A small, deranged-looking girl with pink eyes and pink pigtails. She is known as a demented master of all things living, seeking to delve ever deeper into the mysteries of (blaspheming against) life.

Baroness Sugarpetal is unrivaled at the alteration and handling of living things. Her servants are often rewarded with exotic pets and... personal improvements.

On the other hand, she's known for having no common sense whatsoever when it comes to warping the living or respecting the bodily integrity of her servants.

Baron Polmarop
A muscular emerald birdman with red eyeshadow. He is known as a visionary demagogue, seeking to restore the glory of his people despite nobody having ever heard of them.

Baron Polmarop is a master craftsbird and articifer. His servants are often rewarded with potent artifacts and grand monuments and titles.

On the other hand, he's known for his eccentric and expensive demands when it comes to restoring the glory of his people, as well as the often bizarre demands he makes of his servants' skills, behavior, and attire to befit their glorious stations.

Baroness Ambrosia Moth
A nice-looking lady with platinum hair. She's known as a cheerful alliance-builder, seeking to unite everyone and everything under herself through diplomatic means.

Baroness Moth is a peerless negotiator and diplomat. Her servants are often rewarded with exotic gifts and favors from her dealings with others.

On the other hand, she's known for her rather indiscriminate zeal in recruiting and allying with anyone and anything, regardless of whether they're worth the investment, as well as her insistence that her servants handle much of the effort in keeping her clients happy and well cared for.

Baron PATRIARCH
A brass and glass golem. He's known as a messiah for nonorganic life, tirelessly working to replace the world's inefficient meatbags with his perfect golems.

Baron PATRIARCH is utterly unmatched in the arts of golemcraft. His servants are often rewarded with golem servants of their own and efforts to... upgrade them past their current distasteful conditions.

On the other hand, he's known for his... unorthodox designs and programming in his golems, and his disdain for using living things even in situations where living things are really quite convenient.

Baroness Goretongue
A wiry little girl with a heavily scarred face, white hair, radioactively green eyes, and a demented expression. She's known as a fearsome taskmistress, seeking to refine the weak chaff of the world into a handful of worthy survivors.

Baroness Goretongue is peerless at personal combat and training others, or at least training those that survive. Her servants are often rewarded with elite agents and dangerous or costly chances to improve themselves.

On the other hand, she's known for her relentless turnover rate and deranged successes, constant hunger for more subjects, and insistence that her servants keep pace with the brutal progress of her specimens.

Baron Ferdinand Goilree
A really fat humanoid catfish in fancy clothes. He's known as a world-class gourmand, pursuing and sharing his impeccable tastes with those of similar mind.

Baron Goilree is a master chef and extraplanar importer. His servants are often rewarded with decadent indulgences and exotic bargains.

On the other hand, he's known for his insatiable and expensive appetites, as well as his complete lack of limits or remorse should he grow hungry.

Each turn represents one week, during which time each player receives two actions. Other "Heroic" characters also receive two actions, but most normal individuals only receive one. Minor actions, such as most conversations or cursory examinations, do not take an action unless they become inordinately involved.

Rolls
The nature of an action's effect is determined by a roll. Nothing modifies this base number, though various things can affect the details of the actual outcome.

Roll	Name	Description
20	CRIT!	+4 XP. Unique beneficial effect. Skeletons that are fully conscious and can act on their own and learn skills, a house incorporating a natural hot spring beneath it.
17-19	Bonus	+2 XP. Additional beneficial effect. Skeletons that can see life force, a house that stays cool in summer and warm in winter.
11-16	Good	Additional minor beneficial effect. Skeletons that emit fearsome shrieks, a house with pleasant wood grain patterns.
5-10	Poor	Additional minor negative effect. Skeletons that emit derpy shrieks, a house with creaky floorboards.
2-4	Malus	+2 XP. Additional negative effect. Skeletons that have difficulty not feasting upon the living, a drafty house.
1	FAIL!	+4 XP. Unique negative effect. Skeletons that break loose and begin causing and feeding off of bad dreams, a house that accidentally tunnels into a giant acid worm hive.

Skills and XP
Most actions utilize skills for their effect, and grant xp to those skills on good rolls. By default, the magnitude of an action is equal to the value of its corresponding skill.

Note that this does mean that Dabbling actions cannot produce useful results, while Inexperienced actions are legitimately harmful. This makes training individuals in new skills a somewhat difficult and expensive prospect.

Name	Value	XP to Next/Total XP to Reach
Inexperienced	-1	2
Dabbling	+0	2
Novice	+1	4
Apprentice	+2	8
Adept	+3	16
Expert	+4	32
Master	+5	64

Leaving aside the convoluted nuances of interkingdom, racial, and discipline conflicts, there are five magical academies with strong connections to five allied kingdoms, each with its own specialties and outlooks. Overlap between the five is common, though each is generally considered the best in what they do.

Each academy and its associated kingdom has certain things they desire and others that they can provide. While each can buy and sell a wide range of expected goods and services, these represent the things they're unusually interested in or good at, and will thus usually value unusually highly or possess in unusual abundance. These factors can also be incredibly important politically; a colony which provides a desired good may be seen as more valuable than it possibly is, and a colony with similarities to a home kingdom or academy may appear more relatable.

Aspirants from kingdoms or magical traditions outside the academies are far from unheard of, but predictably rare.


Earthtone
A dwarven power dedicated to economic and crafting magics. Fabulously wealthy in precious metals and gemstones, but prone to incidents involving all the unruly souls they seal inside precious material golems in order to power and control them.

Desires precious metals and gemstones. Provides quality goods and tools.

Woodleaf
An elven power dedicated to healing and nature magics. Served by all things living, but prone to issues regarding their reckless mutation and insistence on every structure and item being alive.

Desires exotic plants and animals. Provides living servants and tools.

Skullspine
An orcish power dedicated to necromancy and black magics. Wield potent destructive magics and are served by demons and the dead, but prone to rather predictable complications on account of using life force to bind unholy forces to their will.

Desires slaves and dark power. Provides unholy servants and power at any price.

Glazetop
A varied power composed of ratmen, quigs, kobolds, nu-nu, flou, kai, norom, vell, retech, vile, and any other lesser race caught and enslaved by a giant floating brain. Everyone is really really concerned about that at first and then just kind of gets used to it. Dedicated to poorly thought out hybrids of two or more other schools. Possesses unrivaled versatility, but absolutely nothing works how it's supposed to, let alone works together with anything else how it's supposed to.

Desires magical materials and reagents. Provides ratmen banjo squads meldings of other things.

Fairport
A human power dedicated to magic-affecting magics. Able to affect and examine magical forces extremely well, but prone to unforeseeable catastrophes involving the reckless manipulation of poorly understood magical forces.

Desires oddities of any kind. Provides augmentation and manipulation of other things.

Name: What do they call you?
Race, Gender, and Class: What are you?
Academy/Kingdom: Where did you come from?
Physical Description: What do you look like?
Mental Description: What do you think and act like?
Backstory: What happened to you?

Primary Skill: You begin at +3 (Adept) in a magical school of your choice. Feel free to experiment or inquire as to what constitutes a valid skill or school.
Secondary Skill: You begin at +2 (Apprentice) in a supporting skill of your choice. Should support your primary skill, class, or role, but then why wouldn't it.
Tertiary Skills: You begin at +1 (Novice) in a pair of tertiary skills. These may be supporting skills to your class or other skills, hobbies, racial or cultural quirks, or something else entirely.
Signature: Possessions come and go, but this thing seems fairly well-entrenched on your person. Usually a practical tool of your trade, but sometimes an aid for your interests, sentimental token, or even a servant or pet.
Submission: Your submission to the competition to determine who would be promoted was a true work of art that any half-blind simpleton could see would revolutionize your entire field. Unfortunately here you are, so if there's anything left of it and it's not too toxic you might as well bring it with you.
Equipment: Your material possessions, or at least the ones you're bringing with you. Usually just clothing and basic tools, but a handful of more exotic trinkets aren't unheard of.

[b]Name:[/b] What do they call you?
[b]Race, Gender, and Class:[/b] What are you?
[b]Academy/Kingdom:[/b] Where did you come from?
[b]Physical Description:[/b] What do you look like?
[b]Mental Description:[/b] What do you think and act like?
[b]Backstory:[/b] What happened to you?

[b]Primary Skill:[/b] You begin at +3 (Adept) in a magical school of your choice. Feel free to experiment or inquire as to what constitutes a valid skill or school.
[b]Secondary Skill:[/b] You begin at +2 (Apprentice) in a supporting skill of your choice. Should support your primary skill, class, or role, but then why wouldn't it.
[b]Tertiary Skills:[/b] You begin at +1 (Novice) in a pair of tertiary skills. These may be supporting skills to your class or other skills, hobbies, racial or cultural quirks, or something else entirely.
[b]Signature:[/b] Possessions come and go, but this thing seems fairly well-entrenched on your person. Usually a practical tool of your trade, but sometimes an aid for your interests, sentimental token, or even a servant or pet.
[b]Submission:[/b] Your submission to the competition to determine who would be promoted was a true work of art that any half-blind simpleton could see would revolutionize your entire field. Unfortunately here you are, so if there's anything left of it and it's not too toxic you might as well bring it with you.
[b]Equipment:[/b] Your material possessions, or at least the ones you're bringing with you. Usually just clothing and basic tools, but a handful of more exotic trinkets aren't unheard of.


Isolation: How difficult the settlement is to reach, be it through time, danger, or other obstacles and complications. Greater isolation tends to mean greater freedom and less assistance.
-Exile: Practically a one-way trip. While reaching and returning from the settlement is probably possible, it's a terrible idea unless you absolutely have to. Freedom (from anyone not already in the settlement, that is) is virtually guaranteed, but so is being almost entirely on your own.
-Trek: A challenge to find. Reaching and returning from the settlement is a major undertaking, not to be done lightly. Freedom is high, assistance and merchants are low.
-Journey: Difficult but doable. Reaching and returning from the settlement is most certainly a project, but an entirely feasible one under the right conditions. Contact is limited but relatively routine, ensuring that freedom and assistance are both respectable.
-Lark: Not bad at all. Reaching and returning from the settlement is about as easy as an extraplanar foray can be, ensuring that freedom is a little sparse and assistance is pretty plentiful.
-Neighbor: A planar expedition in the sense that eating in front of your house is a picnic. Reaching and returning from the settlement is scarcely worthy of mention, ensuring that orders and assistance can come in at any time.

Power: How much is being invested in the expedition. Higher power grants more benefits, but comes with increased ownership and involvement from entities back home.
-Penniless: This is less an expedition and more a starving herd of colonists. You don't owe nobody nothin', but that's also about how much stuff you have so good luck.
-Poor: This expedition has some token outside support, but is largely operating on its own merits. Outside interference is low, but you don't have much to work with.
-Comfortable: This expedition is well-stocked for a pioneer outing. You'll probably have some obligations to somebody, but they're more likely to be an investor than an overlord.
-Wealthy: This expedition is suspiciously well-supplied; somebody wants it to succeed. That somebody is likely going to be keeping a close eye on their substantial investment, however.
-Extravagant: Quality tools and talented servants rain from the sky. Of course, you're probably now legally something's property.

Size: How large the expedition is intended to be. Larger expeditions offer more developed and varied settlements, but tend to require more effort and responsibility to maintain.
-Outpost: Little more than a basecamp of specialists. You probably have a job you're expected to do, but likely one you're also in charge of evaluating your own performance on.
-Village: A relatively self-sufficient gaggle of colonists, usually farmers and the like around a more specialized core. You're probably expected to deal with a certain class of problems when they arise, but are otherwise left in peace.
-Town: A proper, if not exceptional, settlement with most of the reasonable amenities of home. You're probably going to get dragged into aiding the colony in some capacity.
-City: An unusually large settlement for a planar colonization effort, likely with fairly obscure luxuries and services. Their grand plans probably require you to be constantly doing things.
-Metropolis: An exceedingly ambitious attempt at colonizing the new world, likely bringing along everything you'd ever need. They're almost certainly aiming to exploit you to the full extent of your abilities.

Features: Any number of noteworthy features known or suspected to exist on the new world. They can be vague, such as Geography, Weather, or Fauna; or specific, such as chitinous firebreathing rabbits.

Hazards: Any number of noteworthy dangers or risks known or suspected to exist on the new world. They can be vague, such as Natives, Ores, or Curses; or specific, such as irradiated meteor swarms.

Boons: Any number of noteworthy benefits or opportunities known or suspected to exist on the new world. They can be vague, such as Ruins, Nature, or Undead; or specific, such as city-sized ambulatory mushrooms.

[b]Isolation:[/b] How difficult the settlement is to reach, be it through time, danger, or other obstacles and complications. Greater isolation tends to mean greater freedom and less assistance.
-Exile: Practically a one-way trip. While reaching and returning from the settlement is probably [i]possible,[/i] it's a terrible idea unless you absolutely have to. Freedom (from anyone not already in the settlement, that is) is virtually guaranteed, but so is being almost entirely on your own.
-Trek: A challenge to find. Reaching and returning from the settlement is a major undertaking, not to be done lightly. Freedom is high, assistance and merchants are low.
-Journey: Difficult but doable. Reaching and returning from the settlement is most certainly a project, but an entirely feasible one under the right conditions. Contact is limited but relatively routine, ensuring that freedom and assistance are both respectable.
-Lark: Not bad at all. Reaching and returning from the settlement is about as easy as an extraplanar foray can be, ensuring that freedom is a little sparse and assistance is pretty plentiful.
-Neighbor: A planar expedition in the sense that eating in front of your house is a picnic. Reaching and returning from the settlement is scarcely worthy of mention, ensuring that orders and assistance can come in at any time.

[b]Power:[/b] How much is being invested in the expedition. Higher power grants more benefits, but comes with increased ownership and involvement from entities back home.
-Penniless: This is less an expedition and more a starving herd of colonists. You don't owe nobody nothin', but that's also about how much stuff you have so good luck.
-Poor: This expedition has some token outside support, but is largely operating on its own merits. Outside interference is low, but you don't have much to work with.
-Comfortable: This expedition is well-stocked for a pioneer outing. You'll probably have some obligations to somebody, but they're more likely to be an investor than an overlord.
-Wealthy: This expedition is suspiciously well-supplied; somebody wants it to succeed. That somebody is likely going to be keeping a close eye on their substantial investment, however.
-Extravagant: Quality tools and talented servants rain from the sky. Of course, you're probably now legally something's property.

[b]Size:[/b] How large the expedition is intended to be. Larger expeditions offer more developed and varied settlements, but tend to require more effort and responsibility to maintain.
-Outpost: Little more than a basecamp of specialists. You probably have a job you're expected to do, but likely one you're also in charge of evaluating your own performance on.
-Village: A relatively self-sufficient gaggle of colonists, usually farmers and the like around a more specialized core. You're probably expected to deal with a certain class of problems when they arise, but are otherwise left in peace.
-Town: A proper, if not exceptional, settlement with most of the reasonable amenities of home. You're probably going to get dragged into aiding the colony in some capacity.
-City: An unusually large settlement for a planar colonization effort, likely with fairly obscure luxuries and services. Their grand plans probably require you to be constantly doing things.
-Metropolis: An exceedingly ambitious attempt at colonizing the new world, likely bringing along everything you'd ever need. They're almost certainly aiming to exploit you to the full extent of your abilities.

[b]Features:[/b] Any number of noteworthy features known or suspected to exist on the new world. They can be vague, such as Geography, Weather, or Fauna; or specific, such as chitinous firebreathing rabbits.

[b]Hazards:[/b] Any number of noteworthy dangers or risks known or suspected to exist on the new world. They can be vague, such as Natives, Ores, or Curses; or specific, such as irradiated meteor swarms.

[b]Boons:[/b] Any number of noteworthy benefits or opportunities known or suspected to exist on the new world. They can be vague, such as Ruins, Nature, or Undead; or specific, such as city-sized ambulatory mushrooms.


Orcs are nasty, bloodthirsty humanoids that come in a wide range of appearances and sins. They vie with each other constantly for position and power, cannot tolerate weakness, and permit beauty only so long as it's cruel. All that is not strong, they crush under their heel. That which is strong, they break down and swarm or grovel and serve as the situation warrants.

Orcs serve the Dark Lord, an enigmatic being of great power, and his underlings. Each orc wishes to rise in the Dark Lord's hierarchy, and generally believes themselves far more deserving of such position than any of the fools above or below them.

The Dark Lord, as might be expected, has better things to do than sit there and give you orders personally. The Dark Lord's servants, on the other hand, always have need for some expendable hands.

Periodically, your superiors will provide a mission for you. You will be expected to fulfill this mission within reason; of course, orcs are usually not very reasonable, so weigh your options when retreating. Success in the mission will increase your Rank; failure, assuming it doesn't kill you, might or might not boost Rank and might or might not have other consequences.

As players increase in Rank, they become more likely to be considered commanders themselves. Of course, being promoted just means you've moved up a boss layer, and the existing bosses aren't likely to take kindly to competition. Still, more power means more people to order around and more meaningful decisions to make, so it's something all orcs strive for, openly or not.


Finally, the Dark Lord's forces can be somewhat... factional. Internal conflict is constant, and individual orcs may sometimes have to make decisions to side with one leader or another, or just stay out of the mess altogether. Properly maneuvering such schisms is an excellent way to move up in the ranks. Improperly maneuvering such schisms is an excellent way to get your head mounted on a pole as a symbol of your enemy's power.

Basic RTD format.

Roll	Name	Result
6	Overshot	You succeed a little too enthusiastically, accomplishing your goal with significant collateral.
5	Perfect Success	You succeed flawlessly, at least as far as could be expected.
4	Success	You succeed.
3	Partial Success	You achieve part of your goal, but the results are lackluster.
2	Failure	You fail, achieving little to nothing of your goals and likely suffering some downside to boot.
1	Critical Failure	You fail abysmally, ruining the situation far better than your foes ever could.

Bonuses or maluses directly to rolls are rare; more often, outside circumstances will affect the general feasibility of actions. For instance, attacking a heavily armored enemy with a dull spoon and rolling a [5] vs [1] might strike them in the eye with it, but would be unlikely to carve their heart out with a single blow.

Combat largely runs on chunky salsa rules; rather than hit points or armor values, the results of most actions are ad-libbed based on what seems reasonable. For instance, rolling a [1] vs [6] against an attempt to push you off a ledge is liable to result in you plummeting headfirst screaming into the ground, likely with your assailant riding you on the way down. What happens when you hit would depend on the height of the fall, nature of the landing material, your general toughness and existing wounds, and so on.

Two major factors are relevant to this sort of resolution: Your Rank and Skills.


Rank is a general measure of power and authority. You typically gain 1 Rank for every completed mission, and for every completed personal goal. This typically results in 1-2 Rank per mission, though unusually poor circumstances can result in 0 Rank gain.

Skills are a measure of your talent and experience in specific areas. Perhaps not surprisingly, the most common skills for orcs are weapon skills. Craftorcs are not unheard of, but noncombatants are universally spat upon in all but the most vital or esoteric fields.

Skills are leveled by accumulating experience, which is accrued through fortunate rolls whilst using the skill in a meaningful context. Striking training dummies doesn't count unless there's something important on the line for striking them well, for instance.

Each skill starts at -2 by default, and new levels cost experience points equal to their current value. Going from -2 to -1 costs 2 xp, for instance, while going from 3 to 4 costs 3 xp. Advancing from 0 to 1 costs 1 xp.

Roll	XP Gain
5-6	+2
3-4	+1
1-2	0

Level	XP to Next	Total XP to Reach
-2	2	-
-1	1	2
0	1	3
1	1	4
2	2	5
3	3	7
4	4	10
5	5	14

The Scale for Rank and Skills is cumulative and identical; that is, somebody with Rank 1 and Swords 3 would generally be evenly matched against someone with Rank 3 and Swords 1, at least as far as swords are concerned.

0 Difference means that the combatants are perfectly matched, all else being equal.

1-2 Difference usually means a slight advantage; the fight could go either way, but with a noticeable lean.

3-4 Difference usually means a noticeable advantage; the underdog could certainly pull through, but the safe wager is the stronger combatant.

5-6 Difference usually means a nigh-insurmountable advantage; victory is physically possible for the lesser foe, but statistically this will not be much of a fight.

As before, bear in mind situational modifiers; a 4 Power difference where the underdog has superior equipment may be more evenly matched or even swing the other direction, for instance.

So you've been pile drivered into a bonfire on a [6] vs [1], resulting in your assailant catching on fire also but rather firmly lodging you in a literal pyre. This would seem to be the end for you.

But fear not! On receiving normally fatal damage, you may make one final Death Roll. Depending on the results of this roll, you might somehow manage to pull through. Usually on sheer hatred and malice for all that breathes in general and whatever did this to you in particular.

Roll	Result
6	You survive, but the method of your demise or survival consumes your appearance and most likely your abilities. Burn victims become wrapped head to toe, disembowelements produce a spiked skull-studded iron girdle grafted directly to your torso, long falls produce hideous bracing and deformities, and so on.
5	You not only survive, but gain a cool scar and matching reputation. Burn victims have scarring in an awesome-looking pattern, disembowelments produce a sick scar across your sculpted abs, long falls result in hooked claws to prevent any further such incidents, and so on.
4	You survive, though not gracefully. Burn victims have obvious scarring, disembowelments produce a badly healed scar, long falls result in shattered limbs, and so on.
3	You survive, but barely and lose 1 Rank from the trauma. Burn victims have obvious scarring, disembowelments produce a badly healed scar, long falls result in shattered limbs, and so on.
2	You die, unless circumstances can pull you through somehow. Even then, it's not likely to be pretty.
1	You not only die, you die screaming. This was not a graceful way to go.

Allies which are so inclined can... "help" their fallen comrades with "medical" attention. Orcs despise weakness almost as much as they despise charity, so orcish medicine tends to be malpractice or mad science at best, and usually not even that; the most common orcish solution to a fallen comrade, after leaving the weakling to the fate he deserves, is simply to use whatever's on hand to patch up the wound like they would an inanimate object.

A dying orc uses the highest of all medical and their own survival roll to determine their fate. Note that "highest" means highest, not best; a Death Roll and medical rolls of [6][5][1] produces a [6] result, not a [5].

Actions and Turns
Each turn represents a month of in-game time. During that time, each players has three actions- an Interaction, a Miracle, and one more of either. Interactions are mundane expenditures of effort; forging swords, treating with nobles, devouring children, and so on. Miracles are dark expenditures of blasphemous power; curing plagues, causing plagues, infusing objects with the fell power of tortured souls, and so on. Actions strongly involving elements of both, such as forging swords imbued with the power of tortured souls, are handled as two separate but successive or concurrent actions.

Power and Virtues
Each entity of note has two important stats- Power and Virtues. Power is listed as a current out of a maximum, while Virtues simply exist.

Power is regenerated by its current amount each turn, up to the maximum. For instance, 3/20 power would regenerate to 6/20 power on the next turn; 12/20 power the turn after; and cap out at 20/20 the turn after that.

Power is also regenerated by 1 point for every action that does not spend Power, and which rests, augments, or personifies a character's Virtues or recent circumstances. For instance, a character recently defeated in battle could recover 1 Power from being treated by healers or training in an arena; a character with the Gluttony virtue could regain 1 Power by feasting heartily.

Virtues differ from Power in that they are named, set numbers, and in that a single creature can possess multiple Virtues. For instance, a lustful creature might have Lust 5, while an honorable Warrior-Sage might possess Valor 2, Knowledge 1, and Humility 1.

Augmentation and Success
When attempting an action, there are a number of factors that determine its results. For relatively routine efforts, such as forging polearms throughout the month or weaving the nightmares of small children into spools of shrieking cloth, no rolls or decisions are necessary; the action simply succeeds as predictably expected.

For more ambitious and unpredictable works, and for actions which are opposed, the action is divided into three categories: Focus, Strength, and Cost. Each aspect is then rolled for, with each point in each category yielding a 50% chance of success.

The default values for each category vary depending on the type of action. Good or poor materials, circumstances, and tools can all add or deduct value from any or all areas. However, the most deliberate way to achieve success is to apply Power and Virtues to it. The value of any relevant Virtues may be added to any project that matches them at will; there is nothing to expend, and so little reason not to. Power may likewise be added to a project at will, but the project needn't match any Virtues and any Power added is lost from the character's pool. Once added, bonuses from either source may be divided amongst the project's three categories at will; they do not apply to each of them simultaneously, nor are there any limitations on how they may be assigned.

Once a project's fields have been decided, each field is rolled and the successes are tallied. The more successes in a field, the more potent the results. Note that more ambitious attempts by nature tend to require higher numbers to be successful.

A project's Focus represents its clarity of purpose and intent. High Focus means the effort accomplished what you wanted it to accomplish. Low Focus means it accomplished something different.

A project's Strength represents its raw power and volume. High Strength means the effort accomplished a lot. Low Strength means the effort didn't get very far.

A project's Cost represents its cleanliness and lack of side effects. High Cost means the effort had few side effects. Low Cost means the effort had dire consequences.

Combat and Conflict
When two major powers oppose each other, they do so via the same resolution method as any other action. Generally, the results are subtracted from each other to give the final outcome. Opposed parties in this circumstance are permitted to give their action allocations in secret, so their foe doesn't know what they're up to until it's too late.

Losing in opposed actions can have a variety of consequences. When conflict arises as a result of two entities attempting to accomplish the same goal, or inflict opposing goals on the same target, defeat or partial defeat tends to mean the loss of opportunity. When a conflict involves at least one party actively attempting to harm the other, defeat tends to mean having unpleasant negative traits applied by the victor.

Essence and Growth
There are a number of paths to self-improvement; most rely on Essence, a valuable form of otherworldly power. Essence comes from many sources, but is often heavily tied to mortal life and symbolism.

A noteworthy exception to this is Virtues, which cannot generally be purchased with Essence. To gain a point of Virtue, you must simply complete a noteworthy task that matches the Virtue. Note that this task must be truly glorious to count; a creature's Virtues also serve as a litany of its deeds. For instance, eating a particularly fattening meal would not grant a Gluttony Virtue, but feasting upon the king of an enemy city state, devouring all food in your city during a particularly harsh winter, or eating the exotic 101 Dishes of Kings as laid out in an ancient poem all might.

Essence, meanwhile, is harvested primarily from completing challenges and exploiting opportunities. Mortals may offer sufficient sacrifice to provide Essence should you fulfill their pleas, while extraplanar forces may deal in Essence as a currency. Opportunities to harvest Essence from situations directly may arise under the right circumstances, usually from noteworthy events or the gathering of many smaller sources. Finally, individual entities may possess traits allowing them to gain Essence from situations others might not.

Essence is spent in rituals to empower the user, boosting maximum Power, granting beneficial Traits, or otherwise granting boons. The specifics vary by individual and intent.

Within the vast expanses of existence lies a multitude of areas and domains. One such domain is Bloom, the City of Flowers.

Bloom is almost entirely composed of living plant material which adapts to its surroundings. Everything from the streets to the buildings is composed of or at least connected to the same titanic entity. Occasional fixtures of nonliving material are not unheard of, but generally unnecessary save for specific uses.

The actual populace of Bloom is rather varied and fairly vibrant, with a functioning economy and wide range of stable services. Clan warfare and personal feuds seldom threaten operations or bystanders on any significant level, thanks to the iron grip of the city's lords, and the robust competition ensures a certain level of competence and merit amongst the city's minor powers.


Greater Powers
The following are the greatest Lords of Bloom. Each is unfathomably powerful to mortalkind, and generally unfathomably powerful to anything else as well. Together, they rule Bloom with an iron yet fair set of appendages, and are at least tangentially responsible for most of its affairs, internal or otherwise.

Asudarai Kei Talmalach, Empress of Strength: A petite female humanoid with a brilliant crimson mane and eyes. Takes a special interest in formerly humble individuals who have risen to great power through trial and determination.
Gorgoramach, Demon of Gluttony: A massive squat green humanoid of impressive girth. Specializes in nurturing things as to make them stronger.
Echtholomon, Demon of Possession: A stunningly beautiful male humanoid, seemingly made of smoky stone. Specializes in the acquisition of rare and precious things.
Kaikari, Demon of Jealousy: A writhing mass of ever-changing flesh, often with a female humanoid's upper torso. Specializes in adaptation to another's strengths and exploitation of their weaknesses.
Omnulocrini, Demon of Genesis: A great squid. Specializes in the formation of something from nothing.
Jezel, Demon of Alchemy: A robed humanoid of shadow. Specializes in transmuting large amounts of lesser things into small amounts of greater things.
Shakshal, Demon of Ascension: A great dome-shelled beetle. Specializes in the growth of things from insignificant to glorious.
Akarzankus, Demon of Sacrifice: A great bejewelled golden golem. Specializes in expensive projects.
Hrakalmakh, Demon of Attrition: A mass of tentacles, occasionally sporting eyes or other organs. Specializes in attrition and long-term conflict.


Lesser Powers
The following are some of the influential but not eminently powerful players in Bloom's politics and operations. Each is extremely capable in their own field, but lacks the power, savvy, resolve, or some other quality necessary to become a true ruler. Instead, they serve as major powers in their chosen area of expertise, shaping the affairs of their specialty with impressive, if localized, authority.

Count Vasha, Master of Mortals: A tigerlike humanoid with a penchant for finery and the possession of living, thinking beings. A master of all things relating to mortal slaves, he controls the largest slaver's guild in Bloom with casual disdain.
Telu and Mar, Master of Souls: A pair of red-skinned humanoid sisters with an interest in vibrant experiences and handsome men. Peerless at the art of forging souls into useful bodies, the duo operate the most prestigious and advanced soul forge in the city.
Soulrot, Master of Servants: A rotting green-tinged humanoid pig with an interest in motivations and stories. A master of training mortals to be not only useful, but willingly loyal to the right master or cause, he operates the largest and most flexible school for mortal operatives in the city.
Miku, Master of Flesh: A female multiarmed drider with an obsession with anatomy and pets. Utterly peerless at the art of bodily manipulation, she operates the only major fleshworks in the city.
Titikrik, Master of Synergy: A chitinous plantlike humanoid, fond of symbiosis and magical knowledge. Uniquely skilled at implanting beneficial symbiotes in hosts, and master of the only major symbiosis chamber in Bloom.
Lord Oggletop, Master of Materials: A reddish cockroach, fond of finery and strange legends. Suspicously talented at acquiring exotic materials, and owner of the largest exotic wares emporium in Bloom.
Ocaris, Master of War: A small male humanoid with interests in mass prodction and attractive women. Talented at producing massive legions of expendable soldiers, and lord of the largest artifical battleground and associated facilities in Bloom.
Wrack, Master of Implements: A lanky mushroomlike humanoid with interests in forging and insanity. Unrivaled at working inanimate materials, and grand smith of the largest forge in the city.